Read Online Let Us Prey: BBW Military Paranormal Romance (Wild Operatives, #2) by Vivienne Savage - Free Book Online Page A

I felt for her.
    “So that’s it? A fake marriage and I get to live in a big house?”
    “Did you expect more?” I took a shot in the dark and stole a look at her from the corner of my eye. “Some kind of perverted sex stipulation?”
    Hot color spread over her face. Bingo.
    “Sex is a very personal, intimate thing for me, Leigh. It goes against my principles to expect you to lay down with me just because I’m giving you a hand.”
    Maybe it had something to do with my shifter half. Eagles mated for life, and the few times I’d have had sex with a woman simply to satisfy a craving, the lack of attachment made me feel empty inside. Incomplete. It was an impression I couldn’t shake, too intense to risk repeating unnecessarily.
    “It’s personal for me, too,” Leigh confided.
    “I meant what I said about taking you out and getting to know you better, Leigh. Look, my house is big enough for you to have your own bedroom. We’ll take it slow and see how things develop.”
    “What if I don’t want to marry you?”
    “Then I’ll find you the best lawyer I can retain on short notice and we’ll take this to court.”
    “What if I marry you and it gets awkward?”
    “Then in a year, they’ll see you haven’t relapsed and we can split.” The idea had its charm and gave me a year to show her I could be the man she wanted for the rest of her life.
    “Okay.”
    “Okay what?”
    “I’ll marry you.”
    “Church or courthouse?” I glanced over at her and grinned. Leigh wiped the tears from her face with one hand and grinned back at me.
    “Courthouse. Think I’ve had enough of church for a while.”
    ***
    “W ait, wait, what?” Russ choked on his beer until his girlfriend slapped him on the back.
    “I said I need a best man. A witness. Whatever it is.”
    “You’re joking, right?”
    Dani swatted Russ. “I don’t see him laughing, hon. Of course we’ll come, Ian.”
    “Thanks, Daniela, it means a lot to me.”
    “Hold on a minute now. Don’t you think you’re rushing into this? Have you talked to her or told her why you feel so strongly about her already?” Russ asked.
    Daniela rolled her eyes. “Don’t listen to the bear stalker over here. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you strange shifters, it’s that your hearts lead you to the right place.”
    Abashed, Russ exhaled a low sigh. “Sorry. I guess she’s right, but are you sure this is what you want to do?”
    “I had all night to think about it, Russ. We were supposed to have our first official date yesterday, but after we bought a marriage license at the county courthouse, I spent the evening letting her cry on my shoulder instead,” I said.
    “What I don’t get is why it’s taken so long for Ian to find his fated mate,” Dani mused.
    “There could be any number of reasons, darlin’. Could be he wasn’t truly ready to settle down,” Russ explained.
    I nodded in confirmation. “Have you ever heard the saying ‘there’s someone for everyone’? It really should be ‘there’s a few people for everyone’ because as our life circumstances change...”
    “So do the people we’re destined to find,” Russ said. “Katie was always the woman for me, but her death made room for you, Dani. You were my other soul mate, the one I never knew I had. Because I’d bonded once in my life, it took a while for me to realize you and I bonded.”
    “You guys make it sound so romantic. It would make a beautiful movie plot line, I bet. A tale of a man searching his whole life for his other half, only to find her where he least expects her.”
    “Yeah, in a church of all places,” I grunted.
    “My dad used to say church was the best place to find ‘em,” Russ commented.
    “I guess that’s why Dani found your lazy ass in her yard like some hairy sleeping beauty instead of down the road at the Methodist church around the corner.”
    Russ grunted this time. “Anyway, back to your problem. We’ll be there. Just let us know if you